Agriculture has shaped our planet into the world we know, but its continued success is threatened by changing weather patterns. Climate change is a diverse, multifactorial phenomenon and the agronomic strategies we employ to combat its effects need to be case-specific, with significant regional differences. With two major sections, the first explaining the challenges posed by climate change and the second reviewing the current research avenues employed, this book combines detailed discussion of physiological plant responses with practical experience on crop stress management and breeding. Using a number of illustrative case studies, it discusses how the stresses resulting from climate change could be overcome by assessing, measuring and predicting environmental changes and stresses, and identifying opportunities for adapting to multifactorial change. A global effort to combine climate change science with policy is desperately needed. Climate change will continue to pose many challenges to agriculture in the future but by taking an integrative approach to predicting and adapting to change, this book will inspire researchers to turn those challenges into opportunities.

Climate Change and Crop Stress: Molecules to Ecosystems expounds on the transitional period where science has progressed to 'post-genomics' and the gene editing era, putting field performance of crops to the forefront and challenging the production of practical applicability vs. theoretical possibility. Researchers have concentrated efforts on the effects of environmental stress conditions such as drought, heat, salinity, cold, or pathogen infection which can have a devastating impact on plant growth and yield. Designed to deliver information to combat stress both in isolation and through simultaneous crop stresses, this edited compilation provides a comprehensive view on the challenges and impacts of simultaneous stresses. Presents a multidisciplinary view of crop stresses, empowering readers to quickly align their individual experience and perspective with the broader context Combines the mechanistic aspects of stresses with the strategic aspects Presents both abiotic and biotic stresses in a single volume

Crops experience an assortment of environmental stresses which include abiotic viz., drought, water logging, salinity, extremes of temperature, high variability in radiation, subtle but perceptible changes in atmospheric gases and biotic viz., insects, birds, other pests, weeds, pathogens (viruses and other microbes). The ability to tolerate or adapt and overwinter by effectively countering these stresses is a very multifaceted phenomenon. In addition, the inability to do so which renders the crops susceptible is again the result of various exogenous and endogenous interactions in the ecosystem. Both biotic and abiotic stresses occur at various stages of plant development and frequently more than one stress concurrently affects the crop. Stresses result in both universal and definite effects on plant growth and development. One of the imposing tasks for the crop researchers globally is to distinguish and to diminish effects of these stress factors on the performance of crop plants, especially with respect to yield and quality of harvested products. This is of special significance in view of the impending climate change, with complex consequences for economically profitable and ecologically and environmentally sound global agriculture. The challenge at the hands of the crop scientist in such a scenario is to promote a competitive and multifunctional agriculture, leading to the production of highly nourishing, healthy and secure food and animal feed as well as raw materials for a wide variety of industrial applications. In order to successfully meet this challenge researchers have to understand the various aspects of these stresses in view of the current development from molecules to ecosystems. The book will focus on broad research areas in relation to these stresses which are in the forefront in contemporary crop stress research.

In this ready reference, a global team of experts comprehensively cover molecular and cell biology-based approaches to the impact of increasing global temperatures on crop productivity. The work is divided into four parts. Following an introduction to the general challenges for agriculture around the globe due to climate change, part two discusses how the resulting increase of abiotic stress factors can be dealt with. The third part then outlines the different strategies and approaches to address the challenge of climate change, and the whole is rounded off by a number of specific examples of improvements to crop productivity. With its forward-looking focus on solutions, this book is an indispensable help for the agro-industry, policy makers and academia.

Plant Perspectives to Global Climate Changes: Developing Climate-Resilient Plants reviews and integrates currently available information on the impact of the environment on functional and adaptive features of plants from the molecular, biochemical and physiological perspectives to the whole plant level. The book also provides a direction towards implementation of programs and practices that will enable sustainable production of crops resilient to climatic alterations. This book will be beneficial to academics and researchers working on stress physiology, stress proteins, genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering, and other fields of plant physiology. Advancing ecophysiological understanding and approaches to enhance plant responses to new environmental conditions is critical to developing meaningful high-throughput phenotyping tools and maintaining humankind's supply of goods and services as global climate change intensifies. - Illustrates the central role for plant ecophysiology in applying basic research to address current and future challenges for humans - Brings together global leaders working in the area of plant-environment interactions and shares research findings - Presents current scenarios and future plans of action for the management of stresses through various approaches

Global Climate Change presents both practical and theoretical aspects of global climate change from across geological periods. It addresses holistic issues related to climate change and its contribution in triggering the temperature increase with a multitude of impacts on natural processes. As a result, it helps to identify the gaps between policies that have been put in place and the continuously increasing emissions. The challenges presented include habitability, biodiversity, natural resources, and human health. It is organized into information on the past, present, and future of climate change to lead to a more complete understanding and therefore effective solutions.Placing an emphasis on recent climate change research, Global Climate Change helps to bring researchers and graduate students in climate science, environmental science, and sustainability up to date on the science of climate change so far and presents a baseline for how to move into the future effectively. - Addresses the variety of challenges associated with climate change, along with possible solutions - Includes suggestions for future research on climate change - Covers climate change holistically, including global and regional scales, ecosystems, agriculture, energy, and sustainability - Presents both practical and theoretical research, including coverage of climate change over various geological periods

This book addresses the impact of important climatic changes on plant pests (including weeds, diseases and insect pests), and their interactions with crop plants. Anthropogenic activities have seriously impacted the global climate. As a result, carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature levels of the earth are on a continuous rise. The global temperature is expected to increase by a 3°C or more by the end of this century. The CO2 concentration was below 300 parts per million (ppm) before the start of the industrial era; however, recently it has exceeded 400 ppm. This is highest ever in human history. Other than global warming and elevated CO2 concentrations, anthropogenic activities have also disturbed the global water cycle, ultimately, impacting the quantity and distribution of rainfall. This has resulted in drought conditions in many parts of the world. Global warming, elevated CO2 concentration and drought are considered the most important recent climatic changes that are impacting global ecosystems and human societies. Among other impacts, the effects of climatic changes on pests, pest-crop interactions and pest control are important with relevance to global food security, and hence require immediate attention by plant scientists. This book discusses innovative and the most effective pest control methods under an environment of changing climate and elaborates on the impact of drought on plant pests and their control.